Josh Hazlewood pushing for return in Brisbane from side strain, backs IPL teammate Mohammed Siraj

Josh Hazlewood has gone into bat for IPL teammate Mohammed Siraj after his fiery clash with Travis Head in Adelaide, while revealing how he’s placed ahead of the third Test.

Pantomime villain Mohammed Siraj has received support from an unlikely source.

Australian quick Josh Hazlewood has labelled the Indian paceman a “good character” whose antics are “good to see sometimes”.

Hazlewood got through two spells in the middle of Adelaide Oval on Monday as he pushes his case to return from a side strain when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series resumes at the Gabba on Saturday.

Despite Hazlewood being sidelined, the Aussies crushed India by 10 wickets inside seven sessions in Adelaide in an at times spiteful match in which Siraj and Australian star Travis Head clashed.

The incident led to both being found guilty of breaching cricket’s code of conduct by ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle.

Siraj gave Head a send-off after bowling the South Australian for 140 on Saturday evening. The left-hander then uttered some choice words to the fiery Indian fast bowler.

Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj were at the centre of some spicy clashes at the Adelaide Oval in the second Test. Picture: William West/AFP.

Head subsequently expressed his disappointment and surprise with some of India’s on-field conduct during the series, while Siraj claimed on Star Sports Hindi that Head had lied about part of what transpired during their on-field exchange.

The Indian was booed and taunted by segments of the Adelaide crowd and shapes as a likely target for Australian fans for the remainder of the series.

Hazlewood, who played alongside Siraj with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, said he was a fan of Siraj’s manner.

“He’s great. I really enjoyed my time at RCB with Siraj,” Hazlewood said. “He’s probably the leader of the attack there to a degree.

“He’s another one who’s a bit like Virat (Kohli), very passionate, goes with the flow of the game, gets the crowd up, all that sort of stuff.

“Bowled some serious spells in the IPL in the last few years, for sure. He’s just a good character and it’s good to see sometimes.”

Hazlewood appears on track to play in Brisbane after getting through his session on what was due to be day four of the Adelaide Test.

Should he be given the green light, Hazlewood would likely replace Scott Boland, who filled in with aplomb in Adelaide.

“I’ve ticked every box so far this week,” Hazlewood said. “The side’s been a troublesome area for me in the past.

“So if I can lean on the side of caution, I guess a little bit, but it’s very minor compared to the last few I’ve had.

“We’ve got Scotty there, who does a fantastic job every time he plays. So I guess that sort of makes the decision a little easier.

“Sometimes you’ve sort of got to be pretty much 100 per cent to play. And if not, Scott is there to go.”

Josh Hazlewood missed the second Test after a side strain. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

Hazlewood said early detection of his issue during the Perth Test had given him the best chance to return quickly, as opposed to how previous niggles had been managed.

“I’ve probably done that in the past,” he said. “I remember the time in quarantine before the Ashes, I probably pushed it for quite a while.

“The time against the West Indies I think it was in Perth, I think Pat (Cummins) did his quad and we had to bowl a few more overs.

“It feels every over you bowl in that situation sort of adds another few days every time. Lucky enough to be able to pull up a little bit earlier than scheduled. It feels very minor.

“It’s not necessarily your typical side strain, which I’ve had a couple in my career.

“You’re running into bowl and you just grab your hat and you’re off and you’re out for six weeks. It’s not that sort of side strain. It’s from sort of repetitive use.

“It’s caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years but perfect prep this year and played the (Sheffield) Shield game and ticked all that off.

“I was very happy where I was and it still happened, so I was pretty annoyed there for a few days.

“There were plenty of meetings and stuff from CA’s (Cricket Australia’s) point of view, physios, doctors, all that stuff.

“So we’ll come up with a few options and see if we can stop it from happening again.”